A Ronin's Love
by sut-69
Summary: 3 Years after the defeat of Vegnagun, a new enemy threatens Spira. Only the Gullwings are up to the task, but who is their new member? And what is the mysterious force this new adversary commands?
1. Birth of a Ronin

Final Fantasy: A Ronin's Love

Chapter 1: Birth of a Ronin

Author's Note: All Characters appearing in Final Fantasy X and X-2 are the property of SquareEnix and Hironobu Sakaguchi. All additional characters are the property of sut69. This Fan Fiction is for entertainment purposes only and I will make no money from it in any way.

Feedback: This is my first Fanfic so please feel free to offer any suggestions etc you may have for me. Keep in mind that I imagine this work will not be perfect in any shape or form due to my inexperience, so please try to make any criticisms constructive.

Type: Action/Adventure/Romance.

Rating: PG-13

Foreword: This story takes place 3 years after the events of Final Fantasy X-2 and the defeat of Vegnagun. Yuna, Rikku, Paine, Brother, Buddy and Shinra still make up the Gullwings.

Chapter 1: Birth of a Ronin

(These events take place 5 Years ago, during Yuna's pilgrimage)

"Hahahaha, pathetic mortals" mocked Seymour, throwing the limp bodies of the attacking Ronso across the clearing where they fought. As the few remaining Ronso rallied a final attack against the Evil Maester, a small figure silently strode up the path from the base of the sacred mountain Gagazet towards the battlefield. Moments later, as the last Ronso fell dead in the blood stained snow, Seymour was about to continue giving chase to the young summoner Yuna's party. As he turned to make his way up the mountain trail, a quiet but firm voice rang out, catching the Guado's ears over the noise of the blizzard swirling around them.

"Maester Seymour, I request a battle with you" questioned the young woman.

The Maester turned to face the girl to identify this diversion from his task, only to find her head bowed, and her face hidden. Looking her up and down Seymour found himself slightly amused at the slight figure. Dressed in a Samurai warrior's attire and wielding a katana of impressive size, the pint sized girl could have been no more than fifteen years old he figured. "Why do you wish to die, my child?" quizzed Seymour, he himself more than a little curious at this point.

"Although there is no honour in this, it is purely for personal revenge. I am the daughter of Master Wes Kinoc, Adelya. I can not forgive you for my father's death and must take your life as compensation. Even though I realise a true samurai would not pursue such a selfish quest, I am no longer truly a samurai. Seeing as though you have slain my father and master, I am now a Ronin forever destined to wander Spira without worth or honour. For this you will pay, I assure you. It is by my blade your life will end. Do you wish to say anything before I relieve you of your twisted life?"

Seymour grinned, he had not expected such worthy practice before meeting Yuna and her comrades. "I see, if it is what you wish, then I will end your short and worthless life. I agree to your challen…"

But even before he could finish his words, the young samurai was rushing towards Seymour with surprising speed. The Maester just managed to avoid the swing of Adelya's lethal blade, sidestepping at the last moment.

_What, how could I miss. He is impressively quick, I can see this will be no easy fight._

Adelya swung round, anticipating an attack. Too late, Seymour had already launched a barrage of Blizzaga magic at her. Gathering all her ki, Adelya blocked the powerful spell and prepared to strike a countering blow. Even as she ran at Seymour though, he was charging an even more powerful spell.

_Shit! He's TOO quick, how does he recover so quickly?_

As Adelya swung her blade, Seymour unleashed the full power of his magic. Adelya's katana was vaporised as it hit home, leaving her standing there, unarmed and stunned at the power of Seymour. As he fired the full force of a Flare spell at Adelya, she closed her eyes, a moment later her burnt body flying against the mountainside with a sickening crunch.

_Where am I?_

_Am I dead?_

_Dad, I couldn't avenge you. I'm sorry._

Slowly, Adelya's eyes crept open. As her sight improved, she tried to sit up, only to find her whole body racked with pain.

_Aaarrgghh!_ _God that hurt. _

She tried again, carefully this time and was more successful in her efforts, managing to work herself into a sitting position. Surveying her surroundings, she realised someone must have found her and brought her in. No longer on the slopes of Gagazet, she sat in a small room containing only the bed she was on and a wooden table with a plate of food resting on it. Not feeling hungry, she made her way to the door to see if the person who rescued her could be found. Adelya opened the door to a larger room, seemingly the main room of a small house, although she did not recognise the structure.

_Where the hell am I? I suppose I'd better check if anyone's around._

"Hello. Is anyone there?"

Footsteps could be heard from behind a door across the room. The door opened to reveal a man who looked well into his fifties, although he was still pretty well built. His face wore a look of shock however as he pointed at Adelya.

"w..w..what are y..y..you d..oing?" the man managed to whisper.

Adelya didn't quite know why the guy was so worked up. "er…I just woke up in your house. I thank you…for rescuing me. I surely would have died if I had been left on the mountain. In fact, it's a wonder I didn't die in the first place."

"b..b..bu..but y..ou're d..d..d.."

"What are you trying to say?" asked Adelya. "And why are you stammering like that? Please calm down and answer me"

"s..sorry" stammered the man. He took a deep breath and seemed to calm himself, although still noticeably rattled. "Y..you, w..we found you on the m..m..ountain, you were b..barely alive. All the R..Ronso were d..dead so we carried you b..back down here to my house."

"OK" Adelya thought for a moment. "Where is this exactly, and why are you so scared of me?"

"T..this is my house, its in a valley between the calm lands and the mountain. B..but you a..are, I m..mean you're d..d.."

In spite of her samurai training and emotional control, Adelya was getting increasingly irritated. "Look, what are you trying to tell me? Just say it."

The man gathered his wits and said quietly "You d..died, a couple of nights ago."

Adelya didn't know what to say. "W..wh..what?!?"

The man continued "I did everything I could, but you were too far gone. I couldn't save you. I even called for a summoner to come and perform the sending for you, they'll be here tomorrow. S..surely this isn't p..possible…is it?"

Adelya didn't know, but she didn't particularly want to wait around for the summoner to come and send her. In an instant she was running toward the door, and a moment later was outside and sprinting as fast as her legs would carry her away from the house. A million thoughts flew through her head as she ran, but she couldn't make sense of any of them.

_Oh God! Oh God! OH GOD!! What am I doing? I've got to calm down._

She had to find somewhere to go, but she couldn't go anywhere populated if she was dead now could she. Suddenly, she spotted a cave cut into the wall of the valley.

_Its better than nowhere, and I haven't got anything to lose at this point._

Still sprinting, Adelya entered the cave, not caring what the hell was in there as long as she could be alone.

The old man had given up the chase when he realised how quick the young samurai was. His old legs didn't stand a chance of catching her, he just wished he knew what the hell was going on.

_Poor girl, she thought I was gonna force her to face the summoner. She'd better be careful, or the fiends'll have her before morning. Sheesh, the youth of today. Hmph._

And with that, he retired back into his small dwelling, feeling more than a little sorry for the girl. She was just a kid, she didn't stand a chance he figured.


	2. A Promising Blitzer

Final Fantasy: A Ronin's Love

Chapter 2: A Promising Blitzer

Author's Note: All Characters appearing in Final Fantasy X and X-2 are the property of SquareEnix and Hironobu Sakaguchi. All additional characters are the property of sut69. This Fan Fiction is for entertainment purposes only and I will make no money from it in any way.

Feedback: This is my first Fanfic so please feel free to offer any suggestions etc you may have for me. Keep in mind that I imagine this work will not be perfect in any shape or form due to my inexperience, so please try to make any criticisms constructive.

Type: Action/Adventure/Romance.

Rating: PG-13

Foreword: This story takes place 3 years after the events of Final Fantasy X-2 and the defeat of Vegnagun. Yuna, Rikku, Paine, Brother, Buddy and Shinra still make up the Gullwings. Presently, the Sphere hunters have just arrived in Besaid for a break.

Chapter 2: A Promising Blitzer

"Ooooh, he's grown so much since I last saw him" exclaimed Yuna upon seeing Vidina, Wakka's young child, toddling over to her as she entered Besaid Village, accompanied by the other Gullwings. This was the first time she had seen Vidina since his birth three years ago, and couldn't hide her surprise at how much he now looked like Wakka. His bright orange hair was held in a spiked position by an identical blue bandana to his father's, the likeness further enhanced by the Aurochs uniform that had been specially made for him. To finish off the similarities, a Blitzball rested under one arm and a large grin lined the boy's face.

_Wow, he really does take after his dad. I wonder if he has any of Lulu's traits?_

Sure enough, as Vidina neared Yuna, she noticed his face appeared more delicate than Wakka's chiselled features. Now he was up close, Yuna could see a lot more of the Black Mage's features in him.

"Hello old lady, are you my aunty Yuna?" quizzed the boy.

"Ahh, I'm not that old. I'm only 22 y'know. That's not old is it?" Yuna replied with more than a little worry.

"Hmm, I don't know. You looked pretty rusty on that last mission Yuna. Age must be catching up with you" Paine quipped. "What do you think Rikku?"

"What, me?" the blonde Al Bhed chipped in. "I don't know, I think Yuna moved quite well for someone as OLD as she is."

"You're mean, you two. You don't really think I'm old… Er, do you?"

"Heh heh" was the only reply she received.

"What are you saying! Yuna is not old. She is beautiful and young. You do not know what you are saying" said an incensed Brother, madly flapping his arms and jumping around in a state of near insanity.

"We'd better quiet down, or we'll set him off" whispered Paine.

"Yeah, that's the last thing we need. Another lecture by Brother on how BEAUTIFUL and LOVELY and PERFECT Yuna is."

 _God, he's just a lecherous pervert. Idiot. Why can't Yuna see that? She's clueless sometimes. Poor girl._

"HEY, everybody" a familiar voice shouted from inside the village. "You gonna stand there all day like a load of strangers? Long time, no see ya"

"Sorry Wakka, Yuna's getting paranoid about her age. We had to calm her down before she went insane" joked Rikku.

"Heh heh, you shouldn't be worrying about your age ya. I'm still young and I've got a family. Look at Vidina now, he's growing up real strong ya? Wakka said proudly. "He's gonna make a hell of a blitzer when he grows up".

Yuna glanced at the small boy, now kicking his Blitzball across the village. "He's the spitting image of his dad, I wonder if he'll be as good as you with a Blitzball"

Wakka felt the blood go to his face at the praise of his skills. "Hah, it won't take much to surpass me as a Blitzer, ya. If he gets anywhere as good as Chappu, he'll have me beat."

"Don't play yourself down Wakka. I saw you play 5 years ago, and I must say you were pretty good" Paine said calmly. The others could only stare at Paine for a moment, not able to say anything. The stoic warrior was not one for complimenting people, even the people she was close to.

Rikku was the one to break the silence, "Er… are you OK Paine?" A mock concerned look on her young face, "That sounded to me like you just gave someone a compliment".

"Bite me!" Paine retorted swiftly. "I was merely saying that Wakka was the best player of that Aurochs squad, and they beat every team in Spira. Surely he has a decent amount of skill with a Blitzball, otherwise he wouldn't have accomplished that."

"Yeah Wakka, you're better than you admit. The kid couldn't have anyone better to teach him" agreed Rikku, giving the retired Aurochs captain a playful elbow in the stomach.

Wakka thought for a moment, "I suppose you have a point, but that was a team effort, ya. Not to mention we had the best blitzer in Zanarkand."

"That's our Wakka, modest as always. We wouldn't have you any other way now would we" Yuna said thoughtfully.

Wakka's mention of Tidus had brought Yuna's thoughts to rest on her lover. Nowadays though, Yuna had adopted a much more positive outlook on Tidus, often thinking of him when she felt down. The image of him in her mind soothed her and gave her renewed spirit. Over the past year or so, a much happier Yuna had emerged and she now rivalled Rikku for sheer cheerfulness.

Wakka's voice brought her out of her daydream, "Come on. Its starting to get late, ya. I'm hungry, and you haven't even seen Lulu and the Aurochs yet. Datto's getting married soon you know, he's been disappointed you haven't visited in such a long time."

"Datto!" exclaimed Rikku, who spent some of her time with the team whilst they were on Besaid previously. "Who'd marry that guy? I'd better go and persuade them to not to sacrifice their life to him, Tee hee" she muttered mischievously as she ran off to find the Aurochs forward.

The rest of the gang followed Wakka and Vidina back to their hut in the centre of Besaid to speak to Lulu and, more importantly to eat. Most of the group hadn't eaten since before lunch and, as the sun was setting over the Besaid beach, couldn't wait to taste some good food.

After the meal that Lulu had made for everyone, the group sat around the fire in the centre of Besaid catching up on what the Gullwings had been up to.

"So Yuna…" Wakka started. "You found anything more about...y'know…him?"

Yuna turned to Wakka, a little startled at first, no-one has asked her about Tidus for a long time now and she herself hadn't thought of the star blitzer lately. Wakka's mention of Tidus outside the village earlier had directed Yuna's thoughts to her departed guardian, but she hadn't expected Wakka to quiz her about it any further.

"I haven't found anything else like that sphere 3 years ago, besides that was Shuyin and not…Tidus" Yuna said, deep in thought. "Truthfully, I haven't really thought about him for a while now, I've been a lot more positive about him lately. When I think about him, it cheers me up now."

Wakka looked pleased "I think that's good ya. Keep your memories of him, but try not to bring yourself down over the guy. We were all sad to lose him ya. Its good to see you happy, it suits you better eh."

Just then, Buddy made his way over. "Erm…Yuna, sorry to interrupt. We got a distress call on the Celsius. Looks like we're gonna have to call this holiday off a bit early."

"It's alright. Who is it from?" Yuna replied, concerned as always for the people of Spira. Even though she was a sphere hunter, she still couldn't stand by and watch people in trouble.

"The message is coming from the Calm Lands. Tobli contacted us and said something came from Remiem Temple and attacked anyone it came across. There are quite a few casualties, and er…some are dead, we should go quickly yeah? Apparently, whatever this thing is, it's making its way towards Gagazet at the moment."

Yuna could only whisper "Oh no…Kimahri."

"Sorry Wakka, we have to go, we'll come back after this OK."

"Can't be helped, you'd better go eh."

With that, Yuna ran after Buddy back to the Celsius, Thoughts racing through her head._ What could this thing be? It sounds powerful. I hope I can get to Kimahri before it does. _

As the Celsius took off, speeding away from Besaid as fast as it could, a concerned Wakka watched it disappear over the horizon.

_Don't get yourself hurt Yuna, be careful ya._

I hope you liked the second chapter, who or what is this mysterious force?

I'm a big fan of Paine by the way, so she is the main character in the later chapters along with a mysterious character who will be revealed later on.

Find out next chapter, and please review if you have any helpful comments on my writing. This is my first proper story so I need all the help I can get. Hopefully, you'll see some improvement by the time I reach the later chapters.

If you want to E-Mail me about anything, feel free to at 


	3. A Familiar Face

Final Fantasy: A Ronin's Love

Chapter 3: A Familiar Face

Author's Note: All Characters appearing in Final Fantasy X and X-2 are the property of SquareEnix and Hironobu Sakaguchi. All additional characters are the property of sut69. This Fan Fiction is for entertainment purposes only and I will make no money from it in any way.

Feedback: This is my first Fanfic so please feel free to offer any suggestions etc you may have for me. Keep in mind that I imagine this work will not be perfect in any shape or form due to my inexperience, so please try to make any criticisms constructive.

Type: Action/Adventure/Romance.

Rating: PG-13

Foreword: This story takes place 3 years after the events of Final Fantasy X-2 and the defeat of Vegnagun. Yuna, Rikku, Paine, Brother, Buddy and Shinra still make up the Gullwings. Presently, the Sphere hunters have just set course for Gagazet after receiving a distress call from the Calm Lands saying that a mysterious force is making its way towards the sacred mountain.

Chapter 3: A Familiar Face

"How long until we get there Buddy?" said Yuna, tapping her foot impatiently against a console on the Celsius' bridge.

Buddy punched a couple of buttons on his station, "It has been 2 hours since we received word from Tobli. Whatever this thing is, it would have to be pretty fast to get to Gagazet from Remiem that quickly" said the Al Bhed reassuringly.

"Don't be so sure of yourself" said Paine quietly, "We know nothing about this thing, except that it is powerful, or so Tobli says. And I'm sure the Ronso are not going to try and negotiate with it if it threatens them in any way."

Yuna said nothing, knowing it futile to try and disagree with the swordswoman.

_I know you're usually right Paine, but I hope that just this once you're wrong, for Kimahri's sake._

As the trio landed at the foot of Gagazet, they could immediately tell all was not as it should be. There was no sign of a fight here, but not one Ronso could be found anywhere.

"KIMAHRI, WHERE ARE YOU?" Yuna and Rikku shouted together as loud as they possibly could.

"Kimahri…where could you be?" Yuna muttered under her breath.

"Look!" exclaimed Rikku, pointing towards the mountain trail. A wounded Ronso crawled down the snowy path toward the group, his injuries finally taking their toll, as he collapsed before the girls.

"Kimahri, stay with me!" shouted Yuna as she ran towards the fallen warrior. She took his head in her arms as she knelt beside her former guardian, cradling him softly. "Kimahri? Speak to me" Yuna said softly, trying her best to fight back the tears lining her eyes.

"Yuna…Kimahri sorry" came the reply, almost too quiet for Yuna to hear. "Ronso stronger now, but still could not stop him, still have much to learn." Before anything more could be said, Kimahri's eyes shut and he blacked out in Yuna's arms.

"Quickly, we have to get him back to the Celsius." Paine shouted over the rising winds. "We can deal with whatever did this when he's safe."

Yuna snapped out her trance, looking at her friend. "You're right, let's go."

Back on the Celsius, the girls waited anxiously outside the quarters where Kimahri was being treated.

"How long have they been in there? I'm worried" said Rikku impatiently.

"About 30 seconds more than when you last asked" Paine replied.

"Hey I'm only wor…"

Rikku was cut off by the doctor emerging from door next to them. "He will be fine, although it's a miracle he survived these wounds. He must rest for a couple of weeks now, even a Ronso such as he is."

Relieved sighs all around were heard at the news of Kimahri's condition, most had feared for his life after seeing the extent of his injuries.

"Whatever did this, we have to stop it" Yuna announced "Any news on where this thing is now?"

"I imagine its heading for Zanarkand Yuna" Paine said quietly. "At least there are no more people it can hurt there."

"Yeah I suppose so, but I still think we should act now and stop this thing. There must be something it wants in Zanarkand."

"Erm…didn't Kimahri say something up on the mountain. Something about still not being able to stop him…any ideas?" Rikku chipped in.

The group thought for a second, trying to remember the words of the Ronso elder. Paine finally broke the silence, "It doesn't really matter does it?" the other girls looked at her quizzically. Paine sighed, "We will find out when we get to Zanarkand, am I wrong?"

"Ha ha…That's Paine, straight to the fight eh" said Rikku, cheering up a bit.

"Ok then, next destination Zanarkand, full speed" Yuna ordered Buddy, a new determination burning in her eyes. "When we find this thing, no mercy alright? Nobody hurts my friends."

"Er…ok Yuna" said Rikku and Paine, slowly backing away from their leader. "She's scary sometimes y'know" whispered Rikku to Paine.

"Don't I know it. She can't wait to get her hands dirty can she?" the warrior whispered back.

Already, the Celsius was on its way to the Zanarkand ruins, the Gullwings losing no time in chasing this mysterious new danger to Spira. Yuna's thoughts as they sped through the sky were haunted with images of a wounded Kimahri, and filled with questions about this new foe.

_Who would do something like this? What did Kimahri mean, "Still couldn't defeat him?" When will Spira be able to have peace? It seems every time we have it in our grasp, something appears to snatch it away from us. I will not let Spira be terrorised again, I cannot let it happen, I will stop whatever this thing is and bring peace to Spira once and for all._

The team arrived at the ancient city in what seemed like no time at all, although everyone wished it had taken just a bit longer. Disembarking from the ship Paine, Yuna and Rikku made their way through the Yevon dome toward the chamber of the final summoning. Along the way they fought off many fiends, gaining strength and spirit with each battle. As they descended down to the fayth chamber though the three girls began to get pre-epic battle butterflies, as was customary in these situations where the fate of Spira lay in their hands. Even though these three had been though this a number of times before, they couldn't help but feel nervous about this threat.

Each girl had different thoughts as they prepared for the inevitable fight.

Yuna; _we don't even know what this thing is, perhaps we should have done more research on this instead of rushing in._

Paine; _bring it on…and quickly, I'm tired of waiting for a decent opponent._

Rikku_; hmmph, not again. It's always up to us to save the day._

As the lift stopped and the girls stepped off and walked single file into the chamber of the final summoning an eerie silence surrounded them, both Yuna and Rikku noticing at the same moment and casting nervous glances at each other. Paine, always the most mature and unshaken of the three, remained calm and composed as ever and directed her attention toward the door leading to the room beyond. Upon passing through this door, Yuna remembered again the events that took place five years ago, the fight with Yunalesca and casting away their false hope.

A moment later, a familiar voice could be heard echoing from the darkness in what seemed like no direction in particular. "Heh heh, I am not surprised it is you who has come to face me, truth be told I was hoping you would come and entertain me one last time Yuna."

The Gullwings jumped in shock at the mention of their leader's name, in an instant three weapons were drawn, ready to attack the invisible foe. "How do you know me? Reveal yourself…NOW!!" Yuna shouted hysterically into the black abyss.

"Yuna, calm down. That will not help" Paine cut in, trying to keep Yuna in the best state of mind for a fight.

Before Yuna could reply, the voice spoke once more. "Yuna…Yuna, dear me. You have forgotten me already after all we went through together. You disappoint me, I had thought you would hold my memory close to your heart. Oh well, I suppose I shall have to remind you before I end your worthless lives." And as those last words were spoken, a figure emerged from the blackness, his long blue hair swaying in an invisible wind, an evil grin spread across his face.

"Seymour!!" cried both Yuna and Rikku at once.

"But…we killed you…didn't we?" Yuna managed to stammer.

"Ah yes, so you did" Seymour answered "but even I was surprised when I found myself still on Spira. You see, my hatred for all of Spira and the people who live here bound me to this world, and until I destroy Spira I cannot rest. Quite interesting really."

"Interesting my ass! It doesn't matter what you think Guado, you will pay for the people you hurt today. We will end your life here and now, permanently!" Paine stated, her sword held high in anticipation of attack.

"Well well, what have we here, a new face? Who might you be my dear? I would like to know such a beautiful lady's name before I kill her" Seymour said in his most evil, slimy voice.

"I will not give you the pleasure, we don't have time for introductions. No offence." Paine replied, unfazed by the dead Maester's taunts.

"None taken, I see you are eager to fight. Very well, let us begin the massacre." Before the girls could strike though, Seymour had taken up the summoner's stance, swinging his wand and dancing as though calling an aeon. "YOU STAND NO CHANCE WITHOUT YOUR AEONS YUNA, NOW DIE!!!"

Seymour screamed over the now gale force winds swirling around him "FEEL THE WRATH OF PANDEMONA!!." With a massive gust of magical energy, a giant figure emerged from the ground surrounded by a thunderous tornado.

"WHAT THE HELL?" cried Yuna, "WHAT IS THAT THING?"

"DON'T THINK, FIGHT" bellowed Paine, barely able to stand in the force of the wind surrounding the aeon of wind, Pandemona. And with that, the warrior ran headlong into the giant funnel, sword ready to strike. "DIE, YOU BASTARD!!"

"PAINE, NO!!!" cried the remaining two Gullwings, as they watched their friend disappear into the swirling winds.

Sorry to leave it on a cliff-hanger (got to do something to keep you comin' back. heh heh.) but this chapter was getting quite long compared to the others. If you don't know, Pandemona is a GF from Final Fantasy VIII, details on how Seymour acquired it in later chapters. Hope you liked this chapter, it was a bit more exciting, and Seymour is back, Boo! I hate his guts, so it seemed fitting to bring him back to piss everyone off! Is it just me or does he get on everyone's nerves? If you have any comments or questions E-mail me at or review please. See you for the next chapter. Later people.


	4. From the Shadows

Final Fantasy: A Ronin's Love

Chapter 4: From the Shadows

Author's Note: All Characters appearing in Final Fantasy X and X-2 are the property of SquareEnix and Hironobu Sakaguchi. All additional characters are the property of sut69. This Fan Fiction is for entertainment purposes only and I will make no money from it in any way.

Feedback: This is my first Fanfic so please feel free to offer any suggestions etc you may have for me. Keep in mind that I imagine this work will not be perfect in any shape or form due to my inexperience, so please try to make any criticisms constructive.

Type: Action/Adventure/Romance.

Rating: PG-13

Chapter 4: From the Shadows

Yuna and Rikku could only watch in horror as the usually calm and patient Paine leapt into the ferocious winds surrounding Pandemona, her attack not even leaving a scratch on the new Aeon. The creature didn't wait for Paine to strike again though, and swiftly launched a powerful counterattack, throwing her across the room. Paine's body hit the far wall with sickening force and collapsed in a heap on the floor, her limp body not moving.

"PAINE!!" Yuna and Rikku shouted once more, running over to tend to their friend.

"She's alive, but out cold" Rikku said with relief. "Yunie, what are we gonna do? This thing just knocked out Paine in one hit." Rikku looked to her friend, whose face told her how serious the situation was.

Yuna looked down at the floor and muttered quietly "We might not come out of this one alive y'know. This new Aeon seems even more powerful than the ones we knew."

"Yunie…" Rikku thought for a moment "Well I'm not going out without a fight, let's see what this thing's made of. Cover me ok" and with that, Rikku turned and ran to attack Pandemona.

"Rikku… sob …wait" was all Yuna could manage, knowing all too well that this Aeon was too powerful for them to defeat. As a summoner she had felt its power, and it was far beyond anything she had known before.

Rikku thought differently however, and figured it must have a weakness somewhere. After seeing Paine's physical attack fail miserably, magic must be the way to go thought the young Al Bhed. Gathering all her power she charged up the most powerful spell at her disposal, a Blizzaga, and unleashed as much energy as she could at Pandemona. A giant icy spear grew above Rikku's head, growing to an immense size before she finally threw it toward her enemy. The Aeon was taken slightly aback by the power of the ice spell, but was ultimately unaffected, the tornado surrounding the great creature smashing the ice to pieces within seconds.

"Tut tut, how rude" mocked Seymour "You could have put somebody's eye out with that. Pandemona, I think its time you taught her a lesson."

Rikku could only stand and stare in horror as the Aeon cast Aero on her, the power of the wind sending her flying back across the room. Now that her friends were out of the way, Seymour focused his attention back on Yuna. The Gullwing's leader turned to face her nemesis, her head bowed in submission. "You win Seymour, I will give up if you let my friends live" Yuna said calmly.

"How very noble, my dear lady Yuna, if that is what you wish I will comply. Although I must say I am disappointed you put up such little resistance. Pandemona, she's all yours." Seymour said dejectedly as he disappeared back into the shadows, leaving Pandemona towering over Yuna. The Aeon began gathering strength for a final spell as Yuna simply stood in front of it, waiting for the end to come.

"Yuna…I won't let you do it. Get out of here…now" came a weak voice from just behind her. Yuna turned to find Paine holding Rikku in one arm, her sword in the other. Paine looked at Yuna with surprisingly soft eyes, catching the ex-summoner off guard "Please go, take Rikku and go, I'll take care of things here. Quickly."

"Don't be stupid Paine. Either all of us get out or we all stay and fight…together. There's nothing you can say to convince me otherwise so don't try" said an emotional Yuna.

Paine simply nodded, readying herself for the impending attack. In the centre of the room, Pandemona had created a massive swirling tornado in front of itself and was preparing to send it towards the trio. Paine and Yuna looked at each other, realising that they weren't going to survive this. "I'm sorry I failed you Yuna, please forgive me" Paine muttered softly.

"You did just fine Paine, there's no one I would have rather had by my side" replied Yuna, tears welling up inside her. The two girls reached out and held each other tight as the tornado swept towards them, anticipating the pain from the blast, their eyes shut tight.

"ZANKUSEN!!!"

SLASH …… SLASH …… SLASH …

Paine opened her eyes slowly, wondering why in the hell they weren't dead. The stoic warrior released Yuna from her grip and directed her attention to the centre of the chamber where Pandemona had been a moment earlier. All that remained was a large cloud of pyreflies surrounding the figure of a small woman dressed in Samurai attire, her Katana hanging by her side and a small bottle of sake fastened to her belt. As the pyreflies disappeared the girl turned towards the three sphere hunters, staring at them with unblinking green eyes. "You are safe now, please leave before Seymour returns. I will deal with him" said the girl quietly, before turning to leave.

"Wait!" cried Yuna. The Samurai stopped, still facing away from the group "What is it?" she replied.

"You don't stand a chance against Seymour on your own. We have to find out how many aeons he has, and how powerful they are. We need time to think about all of this, come with us please. We won't let you go to your death after saving our lives. There must be some way to repay you for this."

"I require no payment for this deed, I am not worthy of anyone's praise. I lost my honour long ago, and cannot let go until HE is dead" came the response.

Paine walked over to her mysterious saviour, trying to get a better look at her face. "Yuna is right, even if you did defeat that aeon that guy was merely toying with us. You wouldn't stand a chance, the four of us together can defeat him, we just need time to recuperate. I know we can…we have to."

"Very well" said the girl after a moments thought "you are correct, although I don't like to admit it. Let us go now, it will not be long before he realises Pandemona is dead"

The girls made their way swiftly out of the sacred temple, back through the eerie Yevon dome and signalled for Buddy to come and collect them.

As the Celsius approached, Paine turned to their new partner "What is your name by the way?"

The girl looked up at Paine and seemed to relax slightly, the warrior's calm eyes meeting hers. "…Adelya" was all she said before looking away again.

I apologise that this chapter took a bit longer, I've been working a lot lately to pay off my university debt J. Also, I got a little stuck with some parts of this chapter so it took longer to put together. I'll be going back to uni in a little while so I won't be able to update quite as regularly, but I will try to keep the wait between chapters to under about 4 weeks. I'm a bit of a slow writer, as I tend to change things quite a bit until I'm happy with it. Just bear with me and be patient please, and don't forget to review (I need all the help I can get J)


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